


You’re My Very Best Friend

by wizardofahz



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Gen, Minor Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-21
Updated: 2020-12-21
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:08:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,283
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28213677
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wizardofahz/pseuds/wizardofahz
Summary: AThe Fox and the Houndinspired Danvers sisters AU.
Relationships: Alex Danvers & Kara Danvers
Comments: 4
Kudos: 37





	You’re My Very Best Friend

Kara stares up into the trees.

This planet is so green and the wildlife so different. Winged animals—birds, that’s what Martha called them—flit from branch to branch, singing their songs. Furry animals with big fluffy tails—squi… squar… no, squires? She’ll have to ask Martha again later—also scurry across the branches, some of their cheeks filled with food.

Attention fully captured by life in the canopy, Kara wanders through the forest, face upturned and occasionally bumping into a tree trunk or shrub and adjusting her path without bringing her eyes back down.

But then Kara takes a step back and bumps into something decidedly less plant-like. 

* * *

Alex absentmindedly kicks the pebble in front of her.

The land here is so flat. She misses Midvale’s rocky coastline with its cliffs and hills. At least this forest provides a break in the monotony of the plains. 

Alex kicks the pebble forward again.

She misses her parents even more. If they were here, her mom would hug her and reassure her that she loved her and that everything would be all right. Her dad would remind her that she’s strong and that he believed in her, and they would share a conspiratorial smile.

Alex’s vision blurs with tears. She leaves the pebble behind, no longer able to distinguish it from the rest of the forest floor. As she wipes the tears from her eyes, she bumps into another girl. They both stumble back but remain on their feet. 

Based on her height, the other girl is probably the same age as Alex (ten), but that is where the apparent similarities end. The girl is blonde with very blue eyes, and unlike Alex who wears a thick jacket, she wears an oversized but thin flannel shirt. The truly cold months have passed, but it’s still about ten degrees colder in Kansas than it is in Midvale. This doesn’t seem to bother the other girl though.

“I’m sorry!” the girl says immediately. “I was looking at the birds. We didn’t have birds on my pl—birds like this where I’m from.”

“It’s okay. I wasn’t looking either,” Alex says automatically before she registers the entirety of what the girl said. “So you’re not from around here?”

“No, I’m from, umm, the North.” The girl fidgets nervously. “I just moved here.”

She sounds a little lost but mostly sad.

Alex can relate. 

“Me too.” She holds out a hand. “I’m Alex. Alex Danvers, but I moved in with the Lanes.”

“Kara,” the girl says, shaking her hand. Her grip is limper than what Alex was taught to be acceptable, but Alex excuses it. After a pause, she adds, “Kara Kent. My cousin Clark brought me to the Kents after—”

Kara doesn’t finish her sentence, but Alex doesn’t need her to. Her parents are gone just like Alex’s. Alex doesn’t like talking about her parents with strangers, doesn’t like sharing something so precious and personal, so she won’t demand that of Kara. 

Instead Alex nods with understanding, and Kara seems to know that she understands.

“So you like birds, huh?” Alex says just to change the subject.

Kara nods then looks up into the trees. “They are very interesting.” 

“I’m sure there’ll be more when it gets warmer.” Kara looks confused, so Alex explains, “Everyone talks about geese migrating for the winter, but other birds do too.” 

Her dad had taught her that. Now Alex feels sad again.

“Migrating,” Kara echoes.

“Yeah, and because spring is coming that means baby birds too.”

Baby birds with parents coming back to the nest to feed them. Alex looks around for the pebble. She wants to kick something again.

“Really?”

It’s weird that Kara doesn’t know this already, but Alex appreciates the distraction. “Yeah. You don’t learn that up north?”

“Umm.” Kara seems to avoid her eyes. “Not where I was from.”

They wander around the forest together. Alex tells Kara everything she can remember about birds. Some of them are different around here, but Kara doesn’t seem to mind when they encounter a gap in Alex’s knowledge. She even asks about other animals, mouthing, “Oh, squirrels,” when Alex mentions them. Alex is learning to accept that Kara has some weird holes in her education.

The sun is setting when they encounter Lucy Lane.

Lucy is the Lanes’ younger daughter. She’s a couple years older than Alex and a few inches taller. She has green eyes and shoulder length brown wavy hair. She seems nice as far as Alex can tell. They haven’t interacted very much.

“It’s almost dinner time,” she tells Alex. “You should come back to the house and wash up.”

“Okay,” Alex says. Lucy and Kara are looking at one another curiously, so Alex makes the introductions. “Kara, this is Lucy. I’m staying with her family. Lucy, this is Kara. She just moved in with the…”

“The Kents,” Kara supplies.

“I heard,” Lucy says politely. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“Oh, yes. You too.”

Lucy’s practiced military child manners stand in stark contrast to Kara’s uncertain awkwardness.

“I’ll see you around,” Alex says, waving goodbye to Kara.

“Bye, Alex.”

* * *

“Around” ends up being school.

Alex and Kara are both the new kids coming in late during the school year. The other kids don’t pick on them much because Lucy won’t allow it, but they’re not very welcoming either, which suits Alex and Kara just fine because they have each other.

They both find their schoolwork relatively easy. Alex thought she was good at math and science, but Kara is a whiz. It doesn’t show in class though. Her advanced knowledge only seems to surface when she and Alex are alone together. Alex hangs onto her every word, hungry for every new morsel of knowledge. 

Kara also has a strange aversion to history that Alex finds amusing. Every homework assignment they do is punctuated with sighs, eye rolls, and repeated statements that knowing Isaiah Washington (“George Washington,” Alex corrects her) led the Continental Army is irrelevant for the future. 

“Even if you’re not going to major in history, we’ve got to think about college,” Alex tells her. “Grades matter.”

“College?”

“Yeah, college.” When that doesn’t evoke much of a reaction, Alex adds, “Don’t you want to get out of here? Out of Kansas?”

That seems to do the trick. Kara’s brow crinkles slightly. “It’d be nice to go to Metropolis, be with Clark.”

“I want to go to Stanford,” Alex says. She misses California, and going to Stanford would put her close to Midvale. 

Such moves would have them leaving Kansas in opposite directions, but Alex ignores that for now. They have time.

When summer comes, Kara isn’t a stranger anymore. 

She and Alex are laying out in one of the Kent fields under a starry night. Nights are different here. Being a small coastal town, Midvale wasn’t subject to as much light pollution as bigger cities, but it did have its fair share of fog and clouds to cover the sky. When the nights were clear though, Alex’s father would let her stay up late, take her out to the balcony where the telescope stood, and teach her about the stars.

Just like with the birds, Alex shares that knowledge with Kara. In addition to keeping the memory of her parents alive, it revives her enthusiasm for her old hobbies, stripping away any sadness and replacing it with the joy of sharing something with Kara. 

Kara’s knowledge of the stars is a funny thing. In some ways, it’s reminiscent of her ignorance of birds, basic constellations completely foreign to her ears, and in others, it feels like one of her secret specialties as she describes astrophysics terms Alex has never heard. 

As far as Alex knows, constellations can be unique between the northern and southern hemispheres, but Kara said she was from the north. They shouldn’t be that different. Still, the legends behind the constellations make for fun storytelling and speculation. 

She cuts off suddenly when a light blinks across the sky, an airplane.

“Alex?”

Memories of happy nights with her parents and the worst news of her life collide, leaving Alex breathless.

“My parents were killed in a plane crash,” she says eventually, voice trembling. 

Kara places her hand next to Alex’s, just touching, an offering of comfort. Alex takes it, grabbing on tightly.

“They were on their way to Switzerland for a conference. The plane started having problems the moment it took off.” Alex sniffles. “I miss them.” With those three words, she begins to cry. “I miss them so much.”

Alex turns towards Kara, desperate for comfort but not willing to reach out and take it. Luckily, Kara picks up on her clues, hugging her as she cries. 

It’s not until her sobs begin to wane that Alex realizes Kara is crying too. 

* * *

From the moment Kara left Krypton, she knew she would develop superpowers on Earth. Her mother had told her so, and upon arriving on Earth, she had been met by a grown up Kal-El, who had those very powers. He’d developed them when he was fourteen, he’d told her. She’ll probably have a few years before she develops her own.

So when Kara gets off the bus on a Tuesday morning a month after her thirteenth birthday, she doesn’t expect to be hit with the soundwaves of every conversation on the school grounds. Every word bangs against her ear drums, each new sound amplifying the vibrations of the previous. She cries out in pain, covering her ears and squeezing her eyes shut too as if that will help. 

It doesn’t. 

She feels a hand against her shoulder.

Alex. It must be Alex. Maybe Alex can help.

But when she opens her eyes, she sees skeletons, skeletons with fleshy halos gathering around her, coming closer. 

Horrified, Kara runs. She starts off at a regular speed, but it’s not long before she feels herself picking up pace.

She skids to a stop in the forest. It’s unnaturally quiet. Crashing into the forest as she did must have scared the animals away. Normally she’d feel bad, but at this moment, it’s such a relief.

She doesn’t know how long she revels in the silence before she hears her name behind her.

Kara startles, spinning towards the sound as heat beams shoot from her eyes…

...and nearly hit Alex.

“Alex!”

Alex gawks. “You’re like him.” 

“Alex, I’m sorry.”

“Superman.”

“I can explain.”

“Hey, no, it’s okay.”

Alex’s calm slowly seeps through the aura of anxious energy surrounding Kara. She’s speaking gently. She’s not scared or horrified. She’s just surprised. Wait. What?

“My parents used to work with Superman,” Alex explains.

Oh, that’s why. No, wait, her parents used to what?

The only coherent sentence Kara manages to extract from her mental chaos is, “He’s my cousin.”

“Your cousin...” Kara doesn’t need her x-ray vision to practically see the wheels turning in Alex’s head. “Clark Kent is Superman. Huh. My parents never told me that. They said I was too young to know his real identity, that it was too dangerous. I guess I can see it. Maybe.”

The absurdity of Alex taking everything so calmly has Kara’s nervous energy morphing into hysterical laughter. 

* * *

Kara takes some time off from school. 

Martha makes up an excuse in flowery language to both explain and not explain what’s happening, but what it essentially boils down to is stress-induced sensory processing disorder. It sounds serious, and the school doesn’t know enough to question it.

Kal-El comes to help a few times. He comes bearing gifts: mainly a spare pair of glasses that the Danvers had given to him to block his x-ray vision that he’s adjusted to fit Kara. His other gift is advice, which mostly sounds like “you’ll get better with practice” or “stay calm”, neither of which Kara finds particularly helpful.

Kal-El’s advice is most helpful when it comes to flying. He has super speed and super strength to match hers, so when she goes careening out of control, he can stop her before she destroys their surroundings.

But Kal-El can’t be around all the time. He has his own life and a city to watch over, so gaining control of her powers is mostly aided by Alex, Martha, and Jonathan.

Alex drops by every day with homework, so Kara can keep up with their classes. Kara disintegrates her history homework with her heat vision. By accident. Or so she thinks. Maybe her subconscious had other ideas. She’s not sorry. She’ll just say a cow ate her homework. 

Alex staying to help with her powers is more fun. Alex doesn’t remember everything she learned from her parents, but she tries. Most importantly, she sticks by Kara’s side no matter how many times Kara loses control of her powers and nearly hurts her, though occasionally she will roll her eyes and tell Kara to get a grip.

But “getting a grip” is exhausting. Her brain can’t take a break as it tries to juggle controlling each and every super power. Feet have to stay on the ground. No flying. One foot in front of the other. But not too fast! No super speed. And stay calm while concentrating. Too much stress can lead to heat vision bursts or freeze breath. Super hearing is a potential cause of stress, but stay alert to her surroundings, including sounds, which could keep her from bumping into someone because her super strength will hurt them.

All of that but times infinity.

Eventually, Kal-El’s advice proves right. Kara gets better with practice and a few coping mechanisms to stay calm. She goes back to school, and while a few missteps are inevitable, her return is largely a success. 

That doesn’t stop Kara and Alex from spending most of their afternoons in the forest, using the trees and solitude as cover to keep practicing. Kara may be better at keeping a lid on her powers, but that doesn’t mean she can control them with finesse. 

They make a game of it.

Alex marks off a route through the forest, an obstacle course of sorts. It features sharp turns around trees to make sure Kara can control her super speed, the occasional low branch to make sure she’s not flying, and a marked branch or two for Kara to freeze breath without turning the whole tree into a winter wonderland. Alex times her runs and walks the route afterwards to check for broken branches and shattered trunks. They’re careful with Kara’s heat vision. They don’t want to start any forest fires. 

Alex does some practicing of her own. As a substitute for hiking through mountains and climbing on boulders, she develops an affinity for climbing trees. If she falls, Kara can catch her. They even practice this. They start small of course with Alex dropping herself from the lowest branches and work their way up from there.

It’s good that they do.

Sometimes Alex ventures a little too far up where the branches are a little too thin. Sometimes Alex miscalculates as she jumps from tree to tree. Sometimes Alex’s foot slips when she’s climbing up a trunk.

Kara catches her every time.

When summer comes, the majority of their days are spent in the forest, Alex lounging in the branches, Kara hovering in the air beside her. 

One afternoon, the sunlight streams through the trees just right. Feeling unbelievably warm and fuzzy, Kara glances over at Alex. Her eyes are closed, her heart beating a calm and relaxed rhythm, and she looks as content as Kara feels. 

In moments like this, Kara is struck by how lucky she is to have Alex, what a happy coincidence it was that they ended up in Kansas together. They’ve come so far. She can’t imagine what growing up on Earth would’ve been like without Alex. 

Kara says, “Alex, you’re my very best friend.”

Alex turns to her, blinking slowly before smiling. “And you’re mine too, Kara.”

“And we’ll always be friends forever. Won’t we?”

“Yeah, forever.”  


* * *

Alex likes Mrs. Lane. 

Mrs. Lane is generous, kind, and patient. She never tries to assume more of a role in Alex’s life than Alex is comfortable with. When Alex first arrived in Kansas, she hadn’t been comfortable with very much, but over the years, they’ve settled into a good rhythm. 

Lucy is nice enough. She has her own friends, and Alex has Kara, so they don’t spend much of their free time together. When they do, they’re cordial. Alex generally does her best not to step on Lucy’s toes. She is perhaps hyper-aware that she is living with Lucy’s family in Lucy’s family’s house.

Colonel Lane seems like Mrs. Lane’s opposite. He mostly ignores Alex, preferring to spend time with Mrs. Lane and Lucy. Alex doesn’t mind. She will gladly avoid spending time with a man that makes her uncomfortable.

Alex doesn’t know the exact details, but her parents occasionally did some contract work for Colonel Lane. They had then met Mrs. Lane often enough at social events that they became friends. In fact, Mrs. Lane had been the one to convince Colonel Lane that they should take Alex in after her parents died.

Mrs. Lane gets sick, and everything changes.

Not all at once. Instead their lives transform into a continuum of firsts, each one requiring its own adjustment. 

One such adjustment is Colonel Lane’s increased presence in Alex’s life. Anything from school requiring a guardian now involves him, and as Alex has come to expect, he handles things very differently than Mrs. Lane.

Mrs. Lane knows that Alex and Kara share a special bond forged by tragedies only they could understand, so when the school occasionally calls to inform her that Alex and Kara are not present for their morning or afternoon classes, she reminds the teachers that they’re good kids. They do their homework, ace their tests, and don’t disrupt the rest of the class. The school doesn’t have a resource officer who can help them with their trauma, so if they occasionally need an afternoon to help each other decompress and the Kents are okay with it—and they are—then she is too.

Their bad days happen less often as they get older, but they never disappear. But where Mrs. Lane was understanding, Colonel Lane does not share that sentiment. 

Alex spends more time in the house, trying to help Mrs. Lane with whatever she can, but she still needs her Kara time. Colonel Lane grows frustrated at Alex for wandering off even after school or on the weekends. It doesn’t help that the person she keeps wandering off with is a Kent. Lucy explains that he still harbors some resentment that Clark has turned her big sister Lois “against him”.

“Where the hell do you think you’re going?” Colonel Lane growls one Saturday afternoon when Alex heads for the front door.

Alex and Lucy had just finished helping Mrs. Lane prepare and clean up after a fusion brunch of manakeesh and American breakfast foods. With the dishes washed, the kitchen wiped down, and the leftovers put away, Alex had been hoping to spend the remaining hours of sunlight outdoors.

“Sam, let her go.”

“Ella.” Colonel Lane turns to where Mrs. Lane is leaning against the doorway to the kitchen. “You should be resting.”

Mrs. Lane ignores the words she has heard too many times and tells Alex, “It’s okay, sweetie. Go ahead.” 

When Alex hesitates, Mrs. Lane smiles and gives her a tired nod. Alex gives her a grateful smile and scampers off.

Mrs. Lane dies, and everything changes.

Colonel Lane takes an assignment overseas. Lucy and Alex have no choice but to go with him. 

* * *

Martha and Jonathan encourage Kara to make new friends. 

They also warn her that long-distance friendships are hard. International calls and texts are expensive. Catching each other online on instant messaging platforms can be hard across time zones, and though emails are convenient, they’re easy to overlook in a cluttered inbox.

Kara refuses to believe them. 

She and Alex will be friends forever. 

But months pass by, and they fall out of touch. More specifically, Alex stops responding to her emails.

Kara moves to National City for college. Alex is Rao-knows-where. Last Kara heard, Colonel Lane had them moving from base to base.

When Kara is 22, she graduates from college and decides that, while Kara Kent isn’t sure what she wants to be, Kara Zor-El is ready to be a superhero.

Kal-El puts her in touch with a local acquaintance, a private investigator named John Jones aka the Martian Manhunter J’onn J’onzz. He insists on training her properly before she’s allowed to go off on her own. In addition to superpower exercises, he tells her about the different players in National City, including the Department of Extranormal Operations (DEO). She’s to avoid them at all costs.

A few months later when an earthquake hits, Kara discretely goes around helping lift cars and heavy concrete blocks off of people.

Kara is 23 when wildfires ravage a forest on the outskirts of National City. Kara Zor-El makes her first appearance to the world. J’onn isn’t good with fires, and she’s ready.

Cat Grant names her Supergirl. It’s not her favorite name, but it’s not horrible, and it sticks. 

Now that she has a public name and a reputation, people begin to call out to her specifically for help. She retrieves pets from trees (a snake? really???), stops muggings and robberies in progress, and even helps the occasional alien stay hidden in the shadows.

One night, she’s helping Darla, a Roltikkon, when she nearly runs into a DEO team. 

It’s purely coincidence. As far as they know, the DEO are not after Darla, but their presence can only make things worse for her.

Kara gestures for Darla to stay still while she canvasses the situation. She uses her x-ray vision to peer through a few walls and her super hearing to figure out exactly what their mission is.

She nearly heat visions the wall in shock as a familiar voice reaches her ears. 

It takes all her mental willpower and discipline to not follow Alex. The DEO is too dangerous for her to be caught, and she has a responsibility to keep Darla safe.

Kara gets Darla away and spends the next few days with her ears open, waiting to hear that familiar voice or heartbeat. 

And she does.

Most people are getting off work, so the city is congested with traffic. Through that, Kara discerns Alex’s voice from three or four blocks away. She’s talking on the phone as she leaves a convenience store, or so the clamor of people and the electronic whoosh of an automated door indicate. The tinny voice coming from Alex’s phone sounds like Lucy Lane. 

This time Kara doesn’t hesitate. She follows the sound of Alex’s voice all the way back to her apartment complex and then her door. 

She knocks before she realizes she doesn’t know what she wants to say.

Footsteps head for the front door, then a pause as Alex presumably looks through the peephole. 

“Kara?” Alex says, opening the door. “What are— How did you—?”

Kara immediately steps in for a hug. Despite her surprise, Alex automatically reciprocates.

It feels familiar and right.

But also distant and wrong.

Kara steps back, but Alex invites her in.

“How did you know where I live?” Alex asks.

“I heard you, super hearing,” Kara says before rushing to clarify, “Not that I’m spying on you! I just— I heard your voice, and I wanted to see you.”

“Oh,” Alex says shortly, but she seems to take the answer in stride. “Well, uh, Supergirl, huh?”

For a moment, Kara wonders if she should be worried. Of course Alex knows she’s Supergirl. But she also works for the DEO. But she obviously hasn’t told them otherwise Kara would probably be in a detention center or lab right now. Kara figures she’s safe for the moment. 

“Yeah, not so fond of the name, but I didn’t pick it.” She shrugs. “So, you know what I’m up to. What about you?”

“I went to Stanford just like I wanted to, majored in bioengineering, and now here I am.”

Kara doesn’t miss the glaring omission of Alex’s career choice. She chooses not to dwell on it. “Nice, a bioengineer just like your parents.” Kara smiles. Alex nods, but her smile is strained. Kara wonders why. They weren’t DEO too, were they? “We should catch up sometime. Properly. Like, dinner or something.”

Because Alex can’t be bad. The DEO is bad, but that doesn’t mean Alex is. There has to be an explanation because the friend she grew up with would never participate in the horrible acts J’onn has told her about. Kara doesn’t expect Alex to explain anything immediately, but if they grow close again, then maybe she can get answers one day.

“Kara,” Alex says. Her shoulders slump, and she averts her gaze, so Kara knows. 

She knows the answer before she even asks the question. “We are still friends, aren’t we? I know it’s been a while, but—” 

* * *

Alex mentally recoils at the question.

“Kara, those days are over. So much has changed. I don’t see how this could work.”

And gosh does Alex wish she could. She has missed Kara so much, thought about her often, but lately those thoughts have been marred by the context of the DEO.

Not long after she was accepted at Stanford, DEO Director Hank Henshaw showed up. He had told her that, like the newly promoted General Lane, he knew her parents, but that unlike General Lane, he could give her the opportunity to continue their work. The DEO would put her through college if she came to work for them afterwards. Tired of being beholden to Samuel Lane and faced with a high tuition and cost of living, she’d taken the deal.

Her parents’ work was so much more than helping Superman control his powers. Alex finds the DEO a labyrinth of dubious morality. The prizes are exciting adventures, keeping society safe, and pushing the limits of their understanding of xenobiology and technology, but each step, each choice is a moral dilemma that wears away at her soul. 

_ What would you do if this was Kara, _ a voice whispers, the refrain echoing around her skull so much it becomes a shout.  _ Imagine what they would do to her. _

But it’s not Kara, Alex rationalizes to herself each time, because Kara is a good person. The DEO only goes after bad aliens. Look at Superman. The DEO’s been around almost as long as him, and they’ve never gone after him.

Still, Alex would never tell the DEO Supergirl and Superman’s real identities. Alex doesn’t know where all the aliens they apprehend end up—Director Henshaw seems to know her well enough not to tell her—but it’s certainly not a fair trial.

Alex doesn’t know how she could keep all this from Kara. 

Kara knows her so well. As it stands, Alex may have given up so much already. If Kara knew the full truth, her disappointment could be and probably would be poisoned with something worse: disgust, or even hatred.

“Why not?” Kara asks. 

Of course she does. Out of context, Alex doesn’t know why Kara would accept what she’s saying. 

Alex’s phone buzzes, alerting her to a new text. 

“It’s Lucy. I gotta—” Alex gestures vaguely.

Kara glances between the phone and Alex. “You’re close now.”

“She’s like a sister to me.”

In moving away from Kansas, Alex had lost Kara, but with Mrs. Lane’s death, she had gained someone else who understood the tragedy of a parent lost too early: Lucy. They had been each other’s only constant as Lucy’s dad moved with them from base to base. Eventually, to provide them with some stability, he’d decided to place them in a boarding school in Switzerland. 

Moving to Switzerland had sent Alex into an emotional tailspin. Her parents had died on a flight to Switzerland. 

It didn’t help that part of her felt ridiculous. Her parents hadn’t even gotten close to Switzerland. Their plane had crashed shortly after takeoff. If anything, she should resent California, the place she longed to return to. That’s where they had died. And yet, they had been on that plane because of Switzerland, the conference being held there, the allure of the scientific community they could immerse themselves in. She didn’t want to live there. 

That’s when she’d lost contact with Kara. She’d been so off-kilter, and she didn’t know how to put it into words. She’d felt that way before when she was still adjusting to life after her parents’ deaths, but back then with Kara, she didn’t need words. She’d just needed her proximity, her comforting touch, the unspoken acknowledgment of understanding. 

All of which left Alex feeling angry, upset, resentful, sad, dumb, and guilty. Not a great combination.

Lucy had been there through it all, keeping her steady like the big sister Alex needed. 

“That’s… good,” Kara says.

Alex knows from Kara’s faltering words that she’s sincerely glad Alex found support in Lucy, but she’s also not sure why that means they can’t be friends.

“I’m sorry, Kara. I wish things could be different.”

* * *

Months go by before Alex sees Kara again. 

It’s a surprise visit once again but this time on the job. 

They’re tracking Fort Rozz Prisoner #2445 in the downtown area near a college campus. Footage from surrounding security cameras had picked up a potential match from someone who frequents the area.

The Fort Rozz file says he was sentenced to 18 years for drug smuggling. The DEO takes no chances with Fort Rozz prisoners, and two teams are sent out to intercept him. Alex leads the DEO team. The other team is military. Under the guise of oversight, General Lane has demanded increased military involvement in DEO operations. Alex isn’t fond of the military interference, but she enjoys working with Lucy, who is currently with the military team to observe how joint operations work in the field firsthand.

The operation starts out according to plan, but in a few seconds everything changes.

In the first second, Alex feels her stomach plummeting to her feet as she’s jerked up into the air.

The next second, her eyes register the city rushing by below her.

In the third second, her feet stagger to find their place atop a three-story building. 

There is only one explanation. 

“What the hell, K—” Alex snaps, cutting off sharply when she remembers the earpiece connecting her to the rest of the DEO. She needn’t have bothered. The remains of her earpiece are on the ground in front of Kara. Or at least, she assumes the remnants in front of Kara’s feet are her earpiece. With Kara’s superstrength, it’s pretty much been pulverized into dust. 

But that’s not the only surprise. The DEO’s target is hiding behind Kara. 

Okay, so maybe it’s a good thing she didn’t say Kara’s name after all.

“Supergirl, what’s going on?”

“I know you’re DEO, Alex,” Kara says, sending Alex reeling even further. “I know your job is to track down Fort Rozz prisoners.”

“How—” Alex begins, but there are too many thoughts in her head battling to be the first one out her mouth. “You can’t know that, Supergirl.”

“But he’s not like the rest of them,” Kara continues, and Alex’s mind scrambles to keep up. “My mom—” Kara stops, looking pained. “My mom made a mistake. You know how much I love her, how much I looked up to her, how much I miss her. She was wrong about him.”

With none of her questions answered, Alex asks, “What do you want from me? You already have him.”

“Let him go. Forever. He’s not dangerous,” Kara says. 

Alex looks at the timid figure cowering behind Kara. He certainly doesn’t look dangerous, but Alex knows appearances can be deceiving.

“He was trying to save his wife and desperate enough to do anything,” Kara explains. “That’s all. Not dangerous, desperate.” Alex could argue that desperation has turned plenty of people dangerous, but she lets Kara continue, “But I know you can’t go back with nothing. I will give you the Master Jailer.”

“Who?” If this entire conversation could be less disorienting, that would be great. 

“One of the Fort Rozz guards. Maybe he can give you more information on the other Fort Rozz prisoners you’re looking for.”

Alex runs a hand through her hair as she considers Kara’s words. She remembers the many hours spent sharing memories of lost families with one another. She knows what it means for Kara to say her mother was wrong. This alien must have told a very compelling story.

And maybe he’s the best con man in the world, but this is about Kara. Alex trusts her judgment.

“I can’t promise anything—it’s not my decision—but I’ll do what I can.”

“Thank you,” Kara says.

Alex nods. 

“Are you ready?” Kara asks the alien behind her. Her takeoff with him is gradual and gentle, the exact opposite of what she did with Alex.

“Aaaand you’ve left me on the roof,” Alex mutters as she looks around. 

While she canvasses the rooftop for possible ways down, she calls Vasquez at the DEO. At least Kara left her with her phone. Alex’s absence must have been noticed by now, and Vasquez, who’s helping run the mission from the base, is good at multitasking.

Alex walks around the edges of the roof, looking down for fire escapes, neighboring buildings with lower rooftops that she can jump down to, and even the last resort dumpster that can help break her fall. She’s spent enough of her childhood climbing trees. Alex decides to be charitable and assume Kara remembered that.

“Danvers?” Alex can hear the relief in Vasquez’s voice when she picks up. “You okay? You weren’t responsive for almost two minutes.”

Alex spots the downtown DEO base. It’s not a short distance from her current location but still walkable. That makes things easier, or at least it will when she gets down to ground level. 

“I’m on a rooftop downtown, got waylaid by Supergirl.” The best lies are those that stick closest to the truth. She’ll figure out the exact details for the debrief later.

Vasquez relays Alex’s status to the DEO team before saying, “Roger that. Got your location from your phone. What’d she want?”

“I’ll tell you when I get back,” Alex replies. 

Chaos erupts in the background. 

“Vasquez?”

“The target’s been spotted.” 

Alex isn’t surprised. The alien hadn’t seemed comfortable with flying. Kara had probably flown him straight down to the ground to continue the rest of the way on foot. The DEO would have assumed (correctly) that Alex’s disappearance was related to the target and had the teams move in her direction.

Vasquez continues, “I’ve got to go. Do you need assistance?”

Alex considers asking for the team’s location to rendezvous with them but decides against it. Operations are fast-paced. By the time she’s back on the ground and then to the rendezvous location, the team would be long gone. 

“No, I can make my own way back.”

Alex decides on her route down. The building to the west has a lower rooftop. It’s farther away than she would’ve liked, but she can make the jump. On the other side of that building is a tree she can jump to. Climbing down from there would be as simple as riding a bike. She tightens the strap of her weapon as much as possible so that it won’t snag on anything on the way down.

Her feet have just touched the ground when Vasquez calls.

“Danvers, new plan,” Vasquez says without much preamble. “The field team will pick you up at your current location en route to the downtown base.”

“Did something happen?”

“Captain Lane was hurt.”

For the second time that evening, Alex’s stomach drops. “What? Is she— How bad?”

“I don’t know the details, but they want you over there. Now.”

Alex’s mind races as she waits for her ride. 

The alien really had seemed harmless. She can’t picture him hurting Lucy. It’s possible he tricked her and Kara with his timid act, but it just doesn’t seem likely. And yet that leaves only one other explanation. 

No.

Please not Kara.

But if Kara thought the DEO or military would hurt the alien, she absolutely would step in.

Even if that meant hurting Lucy.

The DEO van arrives, and Alex gets her confirmation. It was Supergirl. 

Well, kind of. 

The account of events Alex gets is muddled. The military unit had encountered Supergirl and the alien first. By the time the DEO team arrived, Captain Lane had already been hurt. From what the DEO team heard from the military unit, the alien had run up a hill leading to a light rail line overpass. Captain Lane and another soldier had followed in pursuit. An incoming train had scattered the bunch. Supergirl’s exact involvement is unclear, but she had clearly saved the alien, who was nowhere to be found, and not Captain Lane.

Upon arriving at the downtown base, Alex is immediately ushered into a conference room. She is interrogated about her meeting with Supergirl. She mostly tells them the truth. Supergirl was with the alien. Supergirl wanted the DEO to leave the alien alone, offering to give them the Master Jailer instead. She lies about why Supergirl picked her. She says it’s probably because she was the DEO team leader for the operation.

Alex practically lives in the conference room for the next week as she undergoes debrief after debrief. General Lane is irate. His little girl was hurt, and he wants someone to pay. He’s very happy to make that person Alex. He remains unsatisfied with her answers, asking the same questions over and over again. 

Through his rantings, Alex learns that Lucy is banged up all over but that the worst injury is a compound fracture of her left leg. When Alex is finally allowed out, the first thing she does is visit Lucy. She is relieved to find Lucy in relatively good spirits. She doesn’t blame Alex, which is nice, but Alex is uncomfortable with how vehemently Lucy blames Supergirl.

“You weren’t there,” Lucy says, and Alex really can’t argue with that.

General Lane throws his weight around, and Alex is given a new assignment. She is to develop traps for and weapons against Kryptonians. Before the Supers weren’t DEO priority. Supergirl’s actions have changed the playing field. The DEO’s current armory includes Kryptonite knives, swords, and bullets, but their material alone does not make them sufficient anti-Kryptonian weapons. Knives and swords require proximity, and Kryptonians are famously faster than a speeding bullet. 

Alex focuses her research and development on traps. She rationalizes it by saying the Kryptonians are better captured alive. General Lane yells at her a lot, but Alex doesn’t care. It isn’t until Lucy requests weapons for self-defense that Alex relents. 

* * *

Realizing the DEO and military may seek retribution, J’onn advises Kara to take a break from Supergirl heroics. He even takes it one step further. Alex knows her real identity. If the DEO can’t find Supergirl, they might go after the Kents. 

Kara refuses to believe Alex would betray her like that, but she goes to Kansas anyway. She does feel guilty about Lucy, and leaning on Martha and Jonathan for support sounds really nice. 

She invites J’onn along. Having visited the Kents with Kal-El before, J’onn accepts. 

J’onn stays for a week. Kara stays for a month.

Thankfully, no one comes for them. 

* * *

Half a year later, Alex has made acceptable progress on her projects, and Lucy has almost recovered to full strength. 

Supergirl continues with her heroics in the city but never stays anywhere long enough for the joint DEO/military taskforce to intercept her. She also avoids all their tracking methods, frustrating the team.

The idea for catching Supergirl comes from Lucy. Supergirl had offered them the Master Jailer. That means she either has him or knows where he is. They run facial recognition scans on the Fort Rozz guards and find a match to a NCPD detective, Carl Draper, who has been missing for six months. 

The task force bulldozes its way through jurisdiction lines to obtain all the evidence from NCPD’s missing persons case. They comb through Draper’s files and personal effects. Vasquez is assigned to his phone. They don’t have the physical phone itself, but there’s plenty of electronic data from his service provider. It turns out he’d been jamming his GPS whenever he was off duty. Vasquez uses the DEO’s superior resources to unscramble the data and finds that he’d been spending time at a cabin 80 miles northeast of the city.

They decide to surveil the location. Like Supergirl, they know how to be discrete even in the presence of superpowered beings with x-ray vision and super hearing. The DEO is a black ops organization after all. 

Lucy’s idea culminates in the ultimate payoff.

Supergirl and an unidentified male make regular visits to the site. There’s no sign of Draper, but he’s not their target, so they don’t much care. 

The task force creates a mission plan. They’ll seed the area with Alex’s anti-Kryptonian traps. Supergirl and her accomplice generally take a straightforward path from the southwest, so that’s where they’ll concentrate their efforts. Then armed with Alex’s new Kryptonite weapons, they’ll close in and contain Supergirl. 

Alex decides to go along. She doesn’t want to see Kara get hurt, but at the very least, she wants answers.

The cabin is surrounded by woods. Alex and Lucy are both assigned to Beta team, which has them waiting west-southwest of the cabin. 

Without a Kryptonian to test the traps on, Alex had to operate on simulations and best guess estimates. This is their first field test. If they fail, Alex jokes to herself that she might end up in a DEO cell instead of Supergirl. 

The teams have to wait most of the day, but eventually Supergirl and her accomplice do make an appearance. Supergirl flies near one of the traps. It ends up being about 67% effective. It stops and holds her, but it doesn’t stop Supergirl’s accomplice from phasing her through the trap. Alex didn’t know she had to account for that. Not fair. 

But the delay is enough for the task force teams to move in. 

Supergirl stumbles against her accomplice, an aftereffect of the trap. They flee on foot with the task force close behind. 

They pass another trap, and once again Supergirl’s accomplice frees her from it. Beta team catches up with them. The accomplice protects Supergirl as she regains her strength. Kryptonite weapons do nothing against him. When Lucy gets too close, he phases her leg through the trap technology, trapping her instead.

And then he’s off with Supergirl again.

Alex checks in with Lucy quickly to make sure the phasing hasn’t damaged her leg. It’s merely trapped, and Lucy waves Alex on to pursue Supergirl with the rest of the team. Alex orders someone to stay behind with her as she continues on.

By the time she catches up—other traps have clearly slowed the pair down—the man is running alone. The rest of Alex’s team continues after him, but Alex slows to a stop.

Kara inspires loyalty in people. There’s no way her accomplice would have left her behind, not unless it was for her own good. Alex guesses that she’s hidden away somewhere, better to have her partner circle back for her later than risk irreparable damage from running through too many of Alex’s traps. 

Sure enough, Alex finds her sequestered away behind a thicket of branches. 

Kara stares at her, slack-jawed with disbelief that Alex would betray her.

Alex turns off her comms. 

She will be yelled at for it later, but she doesn’t care. She has spent half a year hearing anti-Supergirl sentiment within the DEO walls (and also her own apartment walls when Lucy drops by). Each time, it wears her down, and each time, her inner monologue protests, voicing its disagreement in increasing volumes until it’s screaming. 

But she could never say anything aloud, and now she’s mentally exhausted and twisted and turned around, and she just wants it all to be over and done with. 

“You hurt Lucy,” Alex says. Whether it’s an excuse for creating the traps or a demand for an explanation, she isn’t sure. “I let you go with the Fort Rozz alien, and you hurt Lucy.”

“I didn’t want to,” Kara says guiltily. “Alex, you have to understand. Dr. Luzano, Lucy, and another soldier were all on the metro tracks, and with the incoming train, they were all going to fall. I could only catch two of them. I knew Lucy was going to break a leg, but the other soldier would’ve had a worse landing. He was going to die.”

It takes a second for Alex to register that Dr. Luzano is probably Prisoner #2445. She shakes her head to refocus her thoughts. “There was no report that you helped Corporal Giles.”

“Everything happened so fast. I wouldn’t be surprised if he never realized.”

Alex paces back and forth as she tries to put the pieces together, to see if they can fit, all the debriefs from the field teams that night with what Kara is telling her now. She frowns. “I know your powers, maybe better than anyone. I know how fast you are. You still could’ve helped her.”

“My powers have their limits,” Kara counters. “You also know that better than anyone.”

And it’s true. Alex does know the limits of Kara’s powers. Once upon a time, she also knew Kara better than anyone on this planet. There is no scenario Alex can imagine in which Kara doesn’t try her best to save everyone involved.

Before Alex can respond, they’re knocked down by a blast of freeze breath.

“It's been a long time, little one.”

Alex looks up at the approaching figure, eyes widening at the familiar face. “Alura?”

“Aunt Astra?”

Both Kara and the new Kryptonian, who is apparently Kara’s aunt ( _ what the f— _ ), shoot Alex curious looks.

“Look how you've grown,” Astra says as Kara stands. “So beautiful.”

“But you…” Kara’s voice falters. “You died. When Krypton exploded... Everyone died. You died... Aunt Astra.”

Kara sounds so lost. Alex can’t even imagine what Kara must be feeling right now.

“Except I wasn't on Krypton when it perished,” Astra explains. Her voice is haughty and absent any affection for her niece. “I was a prisoner aboard Fort Rozz. Did your mother not tell you? How she sent me away? Banished her own blood? Imprisoned me for speaking the truth while she told only lies?”

“But why did she send you to Fort Rozz?”

“For being a hero. For trying to save our world.”

Kara frowns, trying to disentangle fond memories of her aunt from the apparent criminal standing in front of her now. “I remember so many nights, sitting on your lap, listening as you taught me all the names of the stars.”

Memories flash through Alex’s head: her father teaching her the stars, Alex herself teaching Kara the stars. If her father had returned and turned out to be a criminal, well, Alex banishes the thought.

“Then let me educate you once again, dear niece. Your heroics for the humans are misplaced,” Astra says. “We’ve been tracking the DEO. We have seen the traps laid out for you today.” She shoots Alex an unimpressed glare. “Do not stand against me. I let one planet die, I will not do so again.”

Alex watches Kara carefully, waiting for her reaction.

“Funny, I was going to say the same thing.”

A male Kryptonian ambushes them—later Alex will hear Kara refer to him as Uncle Non, yet another wtf moment—aiming for Kara specifically. 

That leaves Alex to fight Astra. Alex has her Kryptonite weapons, but even then, she doesn’t see this ending well. She turns her comms back on. 

“Agent Danvers, can you read me?” Vasquez says. It’s obvious that she’s been repeating the same refrain for a while now. 

Before Alex can say anything, Astra is in front of her, a hand closed around her throat.

“Danvers,” Astra echoes. Her super hearing must have picked up the name through Alex’s earpiece. “Any relation to Jeremiah and Eliza Danvers?”

Alex can’t breathe, much less talk, but her glare serves as a perfectly good answer.

“Shame they had to die,” Astra says. Strangely, she sounds sincere. “They were deemed threats, but they seemed like better members of your species.”

Astra’s casual admission of her part in Alex’s parents’ deaths sends rage and adrenaline flooding through Alex’s veins. She manages to grab the Kryptonite knife from her belt and stab it into Astra’s forearm.

“They were my parents,” Alex growls as Astra releases her, recoiling backwards. 

“I suppose it will be fitting, killing the daughter who followed in their footsteps.” Despite the injury, Astra speaks lightly, watching with amusement as Alex catches her breath. “Don’t worry, Agent Danvers. I will give you an honorable death.”

The precursor to an honorable death is a difficult fight in which Alex feels like a mouse being teased by a cat. Her earpiece is knocked out at some point. She never knew there were so many ways to be thrown around, and she thought she was well-trained by the DEO. 

Alex stumbles away from Astra and rolls down an unexpected slope. She comes to a jarring stop as she ricochets off a tree trunk and into a small collection of rocks. Beyond the rocks is a waterfall. Catching her breath for what feels like the hundredth time in mere minutes, Alex feels the approaching footfall of Astra’s casual steps. She’s trapped.

But as Alex raises her head—she will accept her honorable death with dignity—Astra is swept away with a blast of freeze breath. 

Then Kara is speeding through her field of view, crashing heavily into Astra.

Kara’s upperhand of surprise doesn’t last very long. She had been fighting a much more difficult opponent than Astra, and she’s clearly tired. Astra presses her advantage, but Kara is also well trained. She catches Astra’s incoming fist and diverts her momentum, swinging Astra around and flinging her beyond the edge of the waterfall.

The momentum is too much for Kara to stop. Alex watches in horror as she falls over as well.

Alex stumbles down the hill, scrambling through trees and bushes in a desperate attempt to get to the bottom. She finds Kara lying exhausted near the bank of the tumultuous lake below, thankfully still alive. 

The moment of relief is short-lived. 

A gun cocks nearby. Alex looks up to see Lucy appear. Kara doesn’t even bother to lift her head. She’s too worn out. Lucy is limping, but somehow she’s managed to get free of the trap she was in.

Alex positions herself in front of Kara.

“Come on, Alex,” Lucy says. “Get out of the way.” 

“No,” Alex rasps. 

Lucy stares at her, incredulous. “Why are you protecting her? We’ve been hunting her for months.”

“Lucy, please,” Alex begs. “She never meant to hurt you. I will explain everything to you, I promise, but you need to believe me. Lucy, you know me, and I know you. I know what the last six months have been like for you. I would never ask this of you if I didn’t have a good reason.” Alex can see Lucy wavering. She presses on, taking advantage of their sisterhood to seal the deal. “Supergirl saved me from the other Kryptonians. Please, Lucy.”

Lucy lowers her gun. 

Alex turns back to Kara. “You okay?” she asks quietly.

“She will be.” 

Alex eyes the approaching man warily. He doesn’t appear to be the accomplice that was with Kara earlier. 

“I’m a friend, Agent Danvers.” That is apparently true judging by the way Kara lets him grab her hand.

Alex groans. She’d rub her forehead in confusion if her arms didn’t feel like lead.

“Why does everyone know who I am?” Or who her parents were. First Kara’s aunt and now this guy.

She nearly jumps out of her skin when the man’s voice speaks in her head, “I also knew your parents. They were good people, friends.”

Lucy looks at her in concern. 

“I’m losing my mind,” Alex mutters.

Kara squeezes the man’s hand to get his attention and then shakes her head.

“Alex, we should go,” Lucy says. 

Alex places her hand on Kara’s arm, and they share a parting smile before Alex helps Lucy limp away.

* * *

The flight to Kansas is short and familiar. 

Entering the forest where she and Alex used to play, Kara finds Alex’s favorite tree and settles on the branches where Alex used to sit. After a while, she senses J’onn coming to join her. 

They sit in silence, looking over to the Kent and Lane homes. Or at least Kara does with her x-ray vision. J’onn is content to provide quiet support.

“Are you okay?” J’onn asks eventually.

“I used to play with Alex in this forest,” Kara says, looking around. Her gaze settles on J’onn. “What did you say to her? I’m guessing you used your telepathy on her.”

“I knew her parents,” J’onn says. Kara looks over at him in shock. “I didn’t want to say it outloud in front of Captain Lane. They were also DEO agents but good people. They helped me evade the DEO.”

Kara frowns, forehead crinkling. “Then why’d you keep warning me that Alex might betray me?”

“I suppose we could say she did in a way.” Before Kara can protest, J’onn continues, “Of course I hoped she wouldn’t, but I have spent too many years hiding and running for my life, first on Mars, then on this planet. Perhaps I’ve grown overly cynical.”

“That’s what you have me for. Hope.” Kara lightly bumps her shoulder against his. “You should get to know her. I think you’d like her.”

“I’m sure I will.”

* * *

It’s Alex’s turn for a surprise visit to Kara’s apartment. 

She uses the investigative skills she learned from the DEO to search for Kara Kent. She goes to a library to use their computers. She doesn’t want the DEO to find Kara through her computer. The library doesn’t have the DEO’s resources, but there’s enough on the internet for Alex to find what she’s looking for.

Alex knocks on Kara’s apartment door.

Kara opens the door immediately. “Alex?”

Despite her lack of hesitancy in opening the door, Alex can hear some in Kara’s voice. She hangs back. “I’m sorry. I built the traps because it was my job. I didn’t want to do it, but I did it anyway. I’m sorry.”

“It was your job,” Kara echoes. It’s not a complete acceptance, but it’s a start.

To prevent an awkward silence, Alex says, “I have something for you.” She retrieves the tech from her bag. “I snuck a copy out of the DEO.”

Kara accepts it with confusion. “That’s Kryptonese writing.”

Kara ushers her in, and Alex sets up the reverse engineered hologram.

“Mom,” Kara gasps. “This is how you knew what my mom looked like.” 

“Yeah. I scrubbed your name from the DEO’s version,” Alex says. Being the first one to decipher alien technology has its advantages. 

“Kara, my brave daughter,” the hologram begins.

Kara grabs Alex’s hand for comfort.

Alex squeezes back.


End file.
